A new Citizen Resource Center is being installed in the first floor of the Busch Municipal Building. / Amos Bridges/News-Leader

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One day while checking on some rental property she owns, Janet Gardner wasn’t too happy to find a couch dumped near the curb out front. But a call to the city’s service request line quickly set things right.

“It was excellent — I called one day, and the couch was gone the next day,” said Gardner, who has called the service line, 864-1010, to report high grass and other nuisances in the past.

“They’re very good, very cooperative,” she said. “I give them a gold star.”

The city hopes to make it even easier for people like Gardner to get help in the new year. A new Citizen Resource Center being built near the lobby of the Busch Municipal Building will serve as a one-stop shop for anyone seeking city services.

In addition to reporting potholes, overgrown weeds and other problems, visitors will be able to check city job openings, register to vote and access various print and digital information produced by the Public Information department.

“The construction is pretty close to finished … they’ll probably be moving into that space after the first of the year,” with a public opening in mid-January, said Public Information Director Cora Scott.

Scott said the center, which is being installed in a former meeting room on the first floor of the Busch building, will help consolidate service requests “so citizens don’t have to call multiple departments.”

Scott said the renovation cost about $81,000 and was paid for using money her department receives from the city’s telecable franchise fee.